Stunning Chinese apartment building-mountain showcased in new photos

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you: These are real photos of a new housing development, named Fake Hills, in the southwestern city of Beihai, China, and designed by Beijing-based architecture firm MAD, of Lucas Museum fame.

These recently released photos by lensmith Xia Zhi—which we spotted on Dezeen and are showcased in the firm’s newly released monograph, MAD Works—highlight the first completed sections of the project, which undulates on a coastal site for 800 meters (a little under half a mile), and accommodates a mix of apartments and amenities. Looking to swim or play tennis? Fake Hills has something for you. The whole thing clocks in at a gob-stopping 492,000 square meters (or about 5.3 million square feet).

This is far from the first time architects at MAD has upended what a building looks like: In the Chinese city of Shenzhen, the firm developed a donut-shaped hotel for the Sheraton group, clad with metal and banded in LED lights. And in Canada, the firm created a pair of curvaceous apartment towers that has led some locals to liken them to Marilyn Monroe.

Via: Dezeen